The Chinese Football Association received complaints from Dalian Kunchen players: performance bonuses and rewards remain unpaid, and they did not sign the salary arrears clearance form.

Written by Cheng Shan. On December 18, 2025, the Chinese Football Association publicized the first batch of 41 clubs that settled their debts for the 2026 professional league season, with Dalian Kunchen among them. If everything proceeds smoothly, Dalian Kunchen will be admitted by the CFA to compete in next year's China League One. However, on the evening of December 26, the players of Dalian Kunchen broke the silence on social media — they claimed they did not sign the salary arrears clearance form, and the club still owes them performance wages and 2024 promotion bonuses. So far, Dalian Kunchen has not responded to these allegations.

According to the players, Dalian Kunchen owes performance wages and bonuses. "In 2024, with six rounds left in the China League Two, Kunchen was tied for last place in the promotion group. In the locker room, Boss Li passionately told us that starting from that match, the bonus for each game would increase by 100,000 yuan!"The players explained that the winning bonus at that time was 300,000 yuan per match, and according to Boss Li Jundou’s increasing scheme, the bonuses for the last six matches should have been 300,000, 400,000, 500,000, 600,000, 700,000, and 800,000 yuan respectively. Meanwhile, the boss also promised a 1 million yuan promotion bonus for the team!

Li Jundou’s financial strength was insufficient; during that season, the team had already experienced wage arrears, but the players fought hard for the honor of the team and the city.After consecutive wins, the club paid the bonuses for the first three matches, totaling 1.2 million yuan. However, by the end of the season, despite Kunchen’s successful promotion, the players had yet to receive the remaining 2.1 million yuan in match bonuses and the 1 million yuan promotion bonus.

Additionally, many players’ salaries include performance pay. Since Kunchen finished second in China League Two that year, this should have triggered the performance wage clause, but to this day, players have not received their performance wages. The players believe that according to the CFA’s requirements, the review covers salaries from November 2024 to 2025, and Kunchen’s owed performance wages and final bonuses should have been paid by the end of 2024, thus falling within the CFA’s appeal period.

Dalian Kunchen was included in the CFA’s first batch of debt clearance list, but after players voiced on social media about wage arrears and many stated they did not sign the clearance confirmation form, questions arise: how did Dalian Kunchen make it onto the first batch of cleared clubs?

It is reported that many signatures are indeed missing on the clearance form submitted by Dalian Kunchen to the CFA, but they provided bank transaction records showing payments made to players, which can also serve as evidence for the CFA to verify if the club has settled its debts.

However, an important point is that the bank statements submitted by Dalian Kunchen only cover players’ basic salaries, excluding performance wages. The CFA likely approved Kunchen because they were unaware whether players and the club had reached an agreement on performance pay, which is also linked to performance and playing time, making individual verification difficult. Plus, with an appeal system in place, the CFA allowed Kunchen onto the first debt clearance list, leaving any subsequent issues to be handled after players submit appeals via email.

At the start of the season, our report noted Kunchen’s team kits were “bare,” and compared to the local Chinese Super League team Dalian Yinfeng, Kunchen indeed received less support. However, throughout the year, Dalian Kunchen obtained significant benefits from provincial and municipal governments and sports bureaus. Someone calculated that for the 2025 season, the provincial and city sports bureaus paid a total of 1 million yuan in promotion bonuses from League Two, 5 million yuan from the Dalian Municipal Sports Bureau for promotion to League One, 10 million yuan for operating expenses in League One, and the Liaoning Provincial Sports Bureau supported 1 million yuan. In total, Dalian Kunchen received 17 million yuan in government and sports bureau funding that year.

Upon learning this, the players had their say: “The results were earned by our hard work, whether it was promotion from League Two or League One. The government’s promotion bonuses recognize our efforts, but the club still owes us performance wages and bonuses, which is unacceptable. Besides, without our six consecutive wins at the end securing promotion, the club wouldn’t have reached League One and wouldn’t have received that 10 million yuan. So what kind of life have we had this year?”“Foreign players’ salaries were always paid on time, but domestic players’ wages started being delayed in the second half of the year, sometimes paid in batches. Imagine during matches, the lineup consisted of foreign players who got paid on time, a few domestic players who received delayed payments, and most domestic players who didn’t know when they would get paid. Isn’t this deliberately creating conflict among us? How can such a team maintain its fighting strength?”

Before admission, Dalian Kunchen faced a shortage of funds, and it was only through emergency government funding that they managed to pay the basic wages and previously owed match bonuses at the last moment. So far, Dalian Kunchen has not responded to the wage arrears issue. The players have hired lawyers to protect their rights and hope the CFA will provide them with an explanation and justice.

After releasing the first batch of lists, the CFA received reports from more than 20 players, coaches, and staff regarding Dalian Kunchen. The CFA has contacted the club, which submitted relevant evidence in response to the players’ claims, but has not engaged directly with the complainants.